Joe Giudice is denying reports that he will be deported before his prison sentence is complete in 2019.

The Giudice family attorney, James J. Leonard Jr., confirmed that no actions have been taken to deport Joe in a statement to PEOPLE. “I can state with absolute certainty that no decision has been made regarding the immigration status of Joe Giudice. The same immigration detainer that was lodged against him in March of 2016 remains in place today, but I want to be absolutely clear about this, no judicial authority has made any decision regarding what will happen with that detainer,” he said. "Mr. Giudice has immigration counsel who are and have been working aggressively on his behalf so that he can return home to his wife and four young daughters and we remain optimistic that that is how this will end.”

Teresa also recently shared Joe's reaction to her latest endeavor: bodybuilding. “I don’t think he wanted to get me on stage in a bathing suit,” Teresa told Us Weekly. “Then he recently said to me, ‘You know what, you should do it.’ He’s been so supportive, he’s so happy for me.”